Today during lunch

Olivia: There's little things in my bread!
Me: Those are seeds. They're yummy! They're what little birds eat.
(pause)
O: Can I have a coat?
M: What? A coat? (I wasn't sure I heard her right - it's Spring in Houston, and she has imperfect Rs)
O (starts crying): Over there in the closet!
M: Oh, Olivia, why do you need a coat? It's warm in here!
O: I need a coat so the birds won't eat me! (tugs at her short sleeves)
M: It's okay. There aren't any birds in here.
O: RIGHT THERE! (points out the window, where there are birds flying around in the backyard)
M: But look, they're outside, and you're inside. And birds don't eat people. They just eat seeds and worms. If I went outside with my short sleeves, the birds would see my arms and say, "What nice arms. But I don't eat people." And then they would look for some seeds. They don't eat arms.
O: But they would try...

(She finally calmed down. But she wouldn't eat the seedy bread.)

Drink up

We just finished breakfast, and I asked Carmen, "Would you like some milk?"

Then Olivia asked her sweetly, "Would you like some beer?"


I have NO idea where that came from!

This just in:

Steven's a little late getting home today, so I just said out loud, "Where is our Daddy?"

From upstairs, a little voice answered me back, "Youw daddy's at wowk, Sweetheawt."

:)

Shameless Plug

My sister The Looney Writer has been writing a book as a serial on her blog. She'd love to have some more people read it and provide feedback. So, I'll refer you to her place and invite you to take a peek. There are 12 chapters now (don't let "chapter" scare you - they're all pretty short. I'm a lazy reader, and even I have time for this.) Let her know what you think!

Boo.

Potty training makes me want to pout. That's all.

Spare the meat

Many of you know that in recent years, our family has made it a priority to eat meat sparingly. To us, this has meant that we have meat meals less often, and when we do, we use less meat in them. While we make no claims of being any variety of vegetarian or models of healthy living, we have really enjoyed the less-weighed-down feeling of eating less meat. (I like killing fewer animals, too.)

When I discuss this with friends, many of them ask how we have balanced, filling family meals that do not include meat. Again, I make no claims of being a health expert or dietitian, but our family has been satisfied with our diet, so I thought I'd share this week's dinner menu as an example:

Potato and chickpea curry with naan
Butternut squash soup, rolls, salad and asparagus
Eggplant parmigiana with garlic bread
Clam chowder
Baked tilapia, artichokes, garlic bread, and patatas bravas
Paella
Spaghetti

Breakdown:
1 features meat (paella)
1 has cheese (eggplant parmigiana)
2 have seafood (clam chowder and tilapia)
2 have meat flavoring (squash soup: chicken bouillon; clam chowder: bacon grease in which to saute onions)

For me, the secret to meatless meal planning has been to emphasize what you CAN eat, rather than what you can't. We don't substitute tofu or soy or anything like that. We figure out what non-meat foods we like - vegetables, grains, legumes - and build meals that revolve around those things. One reason meat is so popular is because it has strong, delicious flavor. There are other foods that also have strong, delicious flavors, so when we make those the focal part of the meal, we honestly don't feel like we're missing anything (because we aren't).

Terrible twos

I'm very glad I had Carmen when I did. Even though Olivia is generally a very good kid, 2 is taking its toll, and it's nice to have a sweet little Carmen to comfort me when Olivia's being a pill.